I'm planning to build a wood bench for a shower/steam room. I bought some
3/4" x1.5" Philippine Mahogany to make it with (nothing is cut yet). Cost
was $66 vs. $240 for teak so I hope my choice doesn't haunt me later.
Anyway, When done I want to have a natural looking finish so any kind of
Polyurethane is not what I want. I want to use a stain to even out the
colors and some kind of oil finish.
1. Does this plan sound reasonable (should I return the wood and buy teak)
2. What kind of final finish would wear best in such a wet situation. Tung
oil, Linseed oil, Teak oil, wood preserving (water sealing) stain, natural
with clear water sealer only, natural or natural with oil stain. Or some
other that I didn't think of.
I plan to audition some scraps in the shower for a week or two and see how
it stands up natural. If I can narrow my choices, I will do the same with
some finished blocks.
PipeDown wrote:
> I'm planning to build a wood bench for a shower/steam room. I bought
> some 3/4" x1.5" Philippine Mahogany to make it with (nothing is cut
> yet). Cost was $66 vs. $240 for teak so I hope my choice doesn't
> haunt me later.
>
> Anyway, When done I want to have a natural looking finish so any kind
> of Polyurethane is not what I want. I want to use a stain to even
> out the colors and some kind of oil finish.
>
> 1. Does this plan sound reasonable (should I return the wood and buy
> teak)
Well, teak handles weather well. Cypress is pretty good too. What kind
of wood is used normally?
_____________
> 2. What kind of final finish would wear best in such a wet situation.
> Tung oil, Linseed oil, Teak oil, wood preserving (water sealing)
> stain, natural with clear water sealer only, natural or natural with
> oil stain. Or some other that I didn't think of.
I'd use oil; what kind (tung, linseed) doesn't much matter. Teak oil is
oil *for* teak BTW, not oil of teak. Nothing special about it, just
marketing.
________________
> I plan to audition some scraps in the shower for a week or two and
> see how it stands up natural. If I can narrow my choices, I will do
> the same with some finished blocks.
No finish is going to last all that well. Which is why I'd use
oil...easy to redo.
--
dadiOH
____________________________
dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
>I'm planning to build a wood bench for a shower/steam room. I bought some
>3/4" x1.5" Philippine Mahogany to make it with (nothing is cut yet). Cost
>was $66 vs. $240 for teak so I hope my choice doesn't haunt me later.
>
The better wood would have been cedar nicely sanded, edges radiused
and all stainless steel fasteners counter sunk. Any finish you put
on for wet area use is likely going to warp the wood and lift the
finish at the joints. The real concern is that a finish on most woods
would likely hold heat and burn your ass.
Pete
"PipeDown" <[email protected]> wrote:
>I'm planning to build a wood bench for a shower/steam room. I bought some
>3/4" x1.5" Philippine Mahogany to make it with (nothing is cut yet). Cost
>was $66 vs. $240 for teak so I hope my choice doesn't haunt me later.
>
>Anyway, When done I want to have a natural looking finish so any kind of
>Polyurethane is not what I want. I want to use a stain to even out the
>colors and some kind of oil finish.
>
>1. Does this plan sound reasonable (should I return the wood and buy teak)
The teak will look better and last a lot longer, but you probably know
that already.
>2. What kind of final finish would wear best in such a wet situation. Tung
>oil, Linseed oil, Teak oil, wood preserving (water sealing) stain, natural
>with clear water sealer only, natural or natural with oil stain. Or some
>other that I didn't think of.
I would seal all exposed end-grain with epoxy and then use a couple of
coats of oil. After the oil dries, give it regular treatment with
automotive wax (the super-repellent stuff with silicone). Normally,
you want to keep car wax well separated from wood furniture, but this
isn't one of those cases.
Ken Muldrew
[email protected]
(remove all letters after y in the alphabet)
<[email protected]> wrote in message news:[email protected]...
>
>
>>I'm planning to build a wood bench for a shower/steam room. I bought some
>>3/4" x1.5" Philippine Mahogany to make it with (nothing is cut yet). Cost
>>was $66 vs. $240 for teak so I hope my choice doesn't haunt me later.
>>
>
> The better wood would have been cedar nicely sanded, edges radiused
> and all stainless steel fasteners counter sunk. Any finish you put
> on for wet area use is likely going to warp the wood and lift the
> finish at the joints. The real concern is that a finish on most woods
> would likely hold heat and burn your ass.
>
> Pete
>
>
That's the construction method I will use regardless of the wood specis. I
will also use poly glue (like gorilla) at the joints. but I will use a
breathable finish like oil or water sealing stain, nothing to lift off. I
was looking for a tip on what oil might work best.
I didn't notice Cedar at the woodyard and they had lots of types. Perhaps I
missed that isle, might look again, not sure of the price compared to the
others.
You might want to visit your local marine chandlery. There's a broad
range of products for protecting wooden decks, handholds, trim and
whatnot on boats. I used a product called Armada and it comes in satin,
semi-gloss and gloss. There are others that add some color --
unintentionally. Most of these offer UV protection (unnecessary in your
shower) as well as protection from water penetration. Good luck!
If you don't have a chandlery nearby, try West Marine, Boat US or
Defender. All have on-line catalogues.
Cap'n 321
PipeDown wrote:
> I'm planning to build a wood bench for a shower/steam room. I bought some
> 3/4" x1.5" Philippine Mahogany to make it with (nothing is cut yet). Cost
> was $66 vs. $240 for teak so I hope my choice doesn't haunt me later.
>
> Anyway, When done I want to have a natural looking finish so any kind of
> Polyurethane is not what I want. I want to use a stain to even out the
> colors and some kind of oil finish.
>
> 1. Does this plan sound reasonable (should I return the wood and buy teak)
>
> 2. What kind of final finish would wear best in such a wet situation. Tung
> oil, Linseed oil, Teak oil, wood preserving (water sealing) stain, natural
> with clear water sealer only, natural or natural with oil stain. Or some
> other that I didn't think of.
>
> I plan to audition some scraps in the shower for a week or two and see how
> it stands up natural. If I can narrow my choices, I will do the same with
> some finished blocks.
>
>
"dadiOH" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:%4lYf.10227$zk4.6745@trnddc05...
> PipeDown wrote:
>> I'm planning to build a wood bench for a shower/steam room. I bought
>> some 3/4" x1.5" Philippine Mahogany to make it with (nothing is cut
>> yet). Cost was $66 vs. $240 for teak so I hope my choice doesn't
>> haunt me later.
>>
>> Anyway, When done I want to have a natural looking finish so any kind
>> of Polyurethane is not what I want. I want to use a stain to even
>> out the colors and some kind of oil finish.
>>
>> 1. Does this plan sound reasonable (should I return the wood and buy
>> teak)
>
> Well, teak handles weather well. Cypress is pretty good too. What kind
> of wood is used normally?
> _____________
>
Teak is the preferred choice but at 4-5X the price of other woods, I thought
I could save some money. I had lots of choices, P Mahogany seemed dense and
was suggested by others as being able to handle moisture, It also has a
reasonable price. If I wanted to make it real cheap I would use redwood
but that is too soft.
>> 2. What kind of final finish would wear best in such a wet situation.
>> Tung oil, Linseed oil, Teak oil, wood preserving (water sealing)
>> stain, natural with clear water sealer only, natural or natural with
>> oil stain. Or some other that I didn't think of.
>
> I'd use oil; what kind (tung, linseed) doesn't much matter. Teak oil is
> oil *for* teak BTW, not oil of teak. Nothing special about it, just
> marketing.
> ________________
>
Tung oil or water sealing stain seem to be the best choices for a breathable
finish that will not peel. I really have no experience with the other oils,
I understood teak oil was not necessarily from teak but if it might work on
other woods was unclear to me.
>> I plan to audition some scraps in the shower for a week or two and
>> see how it stands up natural. If I can narrow my choices, I will do
>> the same with some finished blocks.
>
> No finish is going to last all that well. Which is why I'd use
> oil...easy to redo.
>
Thats the nature of an oil finish, this piece will be periodically wet but
not submerged for long periods.
> --
>
> dadiOH
> ____________________________
>
> dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
> ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
> LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
> Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
>
>
I'd use cypress, redwood, or cedar. Teak is good and better than the
mahogany. Not sure about the finish, maybe CWF or some other outdoor
oil finish. Instead of the galvanized fasteners use stainless and use
them such that they won't come in contact with bare skin.
On Mon, 03 Apr 2006 22:34:44 GMT, "PipeDown" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>I'm planning to build a wood bench for a shower/steam room. I bought some
>3/4" x1.5" Philippine Mahogany to make it with (nothing is cut yet). Cost
>was $66 vs. $240 for teak so I hope my choice doesn't haunt me later.
>
>Anyway, When done I want to have a natural looking finish so any kind of
>Polyurethane is not what I want. I want to use a stain to even out the
>colors and some kind of oil finish.
>
>1. Does this plan sound reasonable (should I return the wood and buy teak)
>
>2. What kind of final finish would wear best in such a wet situation. Tung
>oil, Linseed oil, Teak oil, wood preserving (water sealing) stain, natural
>with clear water sealer only, natural or natural with oil stain. Or some
>other that I didn't think of.
>
>I plan to audition some scraps in the shower for a week or two and see how
>it stands up natural. If I can narrow my choices, I will do the same with
>some finished blocks.
>